Well here we have it. As promised(for once), before the new year, the letter P in simple graffiti style. I will admit to being short on ideas for this one but I was looking at a deadline for a change and the Holidays caught up with me a bit. Still, like before, there are tons of different ways to represent this letter if you just let your imagination run with it. Practice is always the key because it helps to loosen the brain a bit and that only comes with repetition.

By this point in our studies I’d expect you to be putting together words with all of these letters and attempting different compositions and ways to make the letters work together. I keep these things simple for a reason and that reason is to show you structure. Once you have a structure set to habit then the rest really does start to make itself happen. I know some of you are out there shortcutting the game and just plain copying letter by letter. If that’s what works for you then fine, I’m glad to be a part of your learning process. But I will be honest in telling you that until you start practicing shape and structure you won’t get very far in being able to express yourself the way that someone who actually looks deeper than the examples would. So don’t be a slouch, the time you spend doing it the “easy” way can be much better spent doing it thouroughly and actually learning something that will take you beyond the realm of this page! Once I get the gallery going again I’d like to see some of the progress people are making and I’ll gladly answer any questions you may have so keep the emails coming!

Well here it is! Another of my all time favourite letters because it can be done in so many different ways! The letter “O” is probably one of the simplest letters in the alphabet. It’s a circle, plain and simple. Drawn as a circle, it looks just fine! But, in case you haven’t noticed, this letter can be based around ANY closed geometric shape. For a graffiti artist this opens so many avenues and so many adaptations that this letter can fit absolutely any style whatsoever. The key to mastering “O” is to really let your imagination go. It’s structure is the non-structure. It works no matter what you do with it! Just remember to keep practicing and do your best to tie this letter in with all the other ones you’ve been working on. This one is so much fun and has so many variations, there is no end to the innovative interpretations you can come up with!

P.S. In case you didn’t catch the last post, Thank you all for your emails and letting me know how close you are following our progress here. I have a lot more in the works for next year. We should be finished with this round of letter studies and we can get into tons more lessons and treatment for all of these fascinating letters! I’ve been talking to a few other writers that have been so kind as to commit themselves to at least one guest post so we have that to look forward to. I’m rebuilding the gallery that had to be closed because it was tied to the forum. The forum, in case you were wondering, has been dropped. I was taking out over 1500 spam accounts every other day or so on there. It just wasn’t worth the trouble anymore.

Anyway, keep the emails coming! I should have the next installment done by New Years!

Thanks to one and all for the emails wanting to see more and quicker posts. I’m really happy this site is making a difference for so many people! I realize that it does take a seemingly random and sometimes long amount of time between posts and that everyone is eager to see the entire alphabet coming across their screens so that they can have the collection complete. Please keep in mind that where the site may be a regular stop for those wanting to continue their studies in the art of graffiti style lettering, it is something I do in my spare time at no charge to anyone but myself. I’ve never asked any of you for any money in exchange for putting this knowledge out to you because it never cost me any money to learn it. I’ve paid some harsh dues in order to learn this craft and share it now with you so that you don’t have to! And at the same time, maintaining a project like this costs money.

The point is, that where it would be nice to dedicate myself solely to showing you how to draw letters the way I do, it’s something I have to do on the rare occasion that I get time to put into it. In the meantime, I am out doing the things that earn me the money to keep the site going without downtime. I maintain a regular day to day job in addition to being a semi-professional fine artist and photographer. Very time consuming vocations I assure you. Because of these things, sometimes it will take awhile between posts. It just will.

Look at the bright side though. This gives you more time to practice your letters! By this point in the alphabet, if you’ve been doing it right and not just copying letters from my examples, you should have the foundation for the entire alphabet. Each letter of every style follows similar techniques and have their own unique elements incorporated into each letter. As much as I hate the idea of people not coming back, I’m wondering why you would need this page for learning anymore! That doesn’t mean I’m about to stop posting(i’ve already finished what’s going to be posted for “O”) but by now you should have a very strong grasp on what you’re doing.

Look for the next installment of letter studies coming within the next few days and hopefully “P” by the new year. Until then, keep practicing!

Well, now we are over the hump! I present to you letter study number 14, otherwise known as the graffiti styled letter “N”! Every single contestant on wheel of fortune can tell you how important this letter is. It is used in so very many words in so very many languages that it is a must learn for anyone who intends to do letters as their vocation! You may find yourself at a loss while seeking to do variations of this one, but once you get the structure down it’s pretty simple. I think the thing that tends to throw everyone is the diagonal line that holds the two prominent pieces together. I can’t promise you that it’s an easy letter to learn, but it is a MUST. I can’t stress that enough. My advice as always is to start out simple and basic then practice it until your hands are sore. After that, take a rest and then practice it some more! I’ve put together just a few examples for you to learn from. They are hardly a representation of all that can be done with this letter, but a good starting point.

Don’t forget to share this page on facebook and twitter and get all your friends in on how to learn this stuff. You’d be amazed how much creativity can be enhanced in a group setting!

Hello again! Yes, I know it’s been awhile but with this letter there are so many interesting way of doing it I went through 15 different sheets before I decided on the one I wanted to post! Introducing the letter M in graffiti style! Yet another one of those sickeningly important letters to learn because it is part of so many words! The variations that can be achieved with this semi-complex structured letter are endless because there is so much to work with so practice and experimentation are essential to make this one of your own. Keep in mind that simplicity is always key when starting a new letter and that this one can easily go from the coolest letter you’ve ever expressed to a menacing blob of ugly in a few strokes of the pencil. It’s very easy to overwork but looks golden when done with the expertize of someone who’s put in the practice to get it right.

I do each of these studies using 4 simple tools that almost anyone has access to. It’s as simple as 1 sheet of paper, a pencil, an eraser and a black flair pen(rollerballs and microns work wonders as well, but I prefer flair). No special tools, no special paper. Just the simplest, most common devices mixed with a little time and effort will get you astonishing results. I remind you of this in order to encourage and to let you know that ANYONE can do this with focus and effort. It won’t happen right away. It’s hardly the ONLY example you should be taking. But it’s attainable. Almost all wildstyles are a simple progression from these simplest styles of lettering but without the fundamentals it’s easy to get “lost at sea” and end up producing something you won’t be proud of later. I strongly encourage anyone that is following this page or learning to draw anything at all to keep your work from now and never throw it away. Put it aside somewhere so that you can dig it up later and see the progress you are making. I still keep my blackbooks from the 80’s and can tell you that every time I open them up I find something I did in the past that will inspire something new to do in the present.
Sorry again for the delay between posts, the next one will come much sooner!

Dropping a new letter on you and a pretty interesting one it is! Lots to do with the letter L in graffiti writing. Its an extremely simple letter but can be represented in numerous variations! Another of the letters I like to refer to as “Style Defining”, this letter is one that becomes tied to an artist because it is pretty difficult to master. It seems like all of the simplest letters are that way. I present to you a few different ways to demonstrate this letter and its myriad capabilities. Don’t bite them line for line, but look back through all of the letter studies so far and try to marry together some of the more common elements. It’s always best to start really simple at first because if you don’t learn the actual structure of the letter, any embellishments you add will just make it obvious that you’re fakin’ moves. I do all of these in the simplest form possible so that you might gather a sense of letter structure as opposed to just twisting letters in all kind of disjointed shapes and coming up something more akin to a mess of spaghetti than actual words. You’re friends might think you’re the baddest graffiti artist in the world, but anyone in the know will likely laugh your happy ass right out of the room. So take your time, use your eraser and beat up these letters until you get them right. You’ll thank yourself for the time you spent learning.

But then, I guess my lack of attention can only be a statement to my being busy doing other wonderful things HAHAHA. Regardless, here we have a letter study of the letter K. Not a bad letter to play with. Very static in it’s construct which ,makes it very hard to manipulate while still maintaining its true character. As with most of the letters though, simplicity is key! Learn fast how to do this letter in its most primitive form and it becomes very easy to manipulate into something more unique to your own style and liking. I think you’ll have a lot of fun with this one. I know I did!

On a side note, and hopefully you won’t take this the wrong way because my motivation in creating this site is hardly in search of riches, but a whole lot of work goes into doing these drawing by hand and maintaining the site to keep posting them. The few of you that may know me also know that I maintain a family of other sites related to the display and passing on the tradition of this craft. The majority of the expense in keeping this going has come from my own pocket in a period in history when times are pretty tight. I’ve been forced financially to have abandoned a few of the sites and and may be in jeopardy of abandoning more(to include this one) due to financial and time restraints. I am grateful beyond measure for the people that have taken to visiting the site regularly and hope that many of you find it a resource that helps you grow in the vocation that has brought me so much happiness over the years. My only request of you in return is that if you have a few bucks to spare, click on the paypal button on the righthand side of the page and throw a bone my way. Any money received will only be used to maintain the sites and to bring you more fine artwork to look at and hopefully draw inspiration from. If you don’t have anything to spare, then do the graffiti world a favour and stick to your practicing. Learn as much as you can and do your best to master this fine artform and the gratification that comes with your success. Pass it on and forward what is offered to you for free. It is not often that we are given anything in this life and these sites and this information is my gift to both you as a people and graffiti art as a whole and again, I appreciate the following this page in particular has gathered. It is an honour to have your attention.

Sorry again for the delay. The end of painting season here in my part of the world should benefit the audience of this site greatly! Anyway, here we have the tenth installment in our letter study series, the letter “J” in graffiti styled type. Once again, an extremely simple letter in its base form makes for a difficult time in adapting it to one’s on style. This nasty fish hook of a letter made for some very interesting trial and error. To be totally honest, this is the first letter study in the series that I re-did a few times before settling on a page that I liked! In the end though, it all comes down to practice. It doesn’t matter if it’s letters you are drawing or fish, the more you do it, the better you will become! Enjoy the latest installment and practice practice practice!

Sorry I haven’t been around for a bit. Life get’s pretty busy this close to painting season.

On with the show!

Here we have the graffiti style letter “I”. Another very simple letter(most of them are), this one may give you a little bit of trouble initially. It’s long, slender. It’s capital form tends to stretch out far and wide causing difficulties in mixing with other letters. At the same time, this can also be used to your advantage if you work it right! I guess it depends on whether the cup is half full or half empty in your world. Take it for what it is, gather some inspiration from this study and make an attempt not to copy from it directly. If you’ll notice anything, most of these variations are simply distortions and NONE of them lose the structure of the letter itself. STRUCTURE IS KEY HERE. I can’t say it enough.

Well, here we have the next letter in our collection of letter studies! “H” is a pretty simple letter in its construction, 3 lines no matter capital or lower case. There has to be a million ways to make this letter. Again, though, I broke it down into its simplest form for sake of study and instruction. There is good and bad to this letter for sure. TONS of places to go for style, but, at the same time, put those two legs together at the top and you have an “A”. Get a little too nutty on the right-hand serif of the lowercase version and you end up with a small “b”. Regardless, it’s a blast to experiment with this letter and well worth the practice!